Engine oil filling device

ABSTRACT

An engine oil filling device includes: an oil filling pipe attached at a lower end side of the device to an oil supply port that communicates with an oil pan, and provided at an upper end side of the device with an oil receiving part that opens upwardly; a cap that is provided with a cylinder part that protrudes inside the cap, an oil level gauge attached to the cylinder part and inserted from the oil filling pipe into the oil pan via the oil supply port, covers the oil receiving part, and is fixed to the oil filling pipe by being rotated and a sealing member that is provided inside the cap and is rotatable about the axis of the oil level gauge, and seals between an inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part and an outer circumferential surface of the cylinder part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2015-053597 filed on Mar. 17, 2015, the entire contents of Which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to an oil filling device of engine oil which is an extension of an oil filling pipe from an oil supply port which communicates with an oil pan or oil sump.

2. Related Art

Generally, an amount of lubrication oil reserved in an oil pan of an engine is checked by first drawing an oil level gauge from an oil supply port and visually observing a position of oil adhering to a tip-end side of the gauge. However, it is difficult to fill the oil if the oil supply port is disposed near the oil surface. Especially under a situation where various instruments are disposed around the engine, a hand is difficult to reach the position of the oil supply port if the oil supply port is disposed at a lower position of the engine. Therefore, workability is bad.

For this reason, an oil level oil filling gauge mounting structure is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2009-185677, in which an oil level oil filling gauge which is integrally comprised of an oil supply pipe and an oil checking part is installed in a side part of a cylinder block of an engine, and the oil level oil filling gauge is constructed so as to be detachable and attachable from outside of the engine.

In JP-A No. 2009-185677, an oil filling port is disposed at a position where the oil can easily be filled. However, since the shape of a spout of an external guide pipe which is used as an actual oil filling port is simply a circular cylindrical opening, it requires a careful filling work for pouring the oil into the pipe without spilling the oil, thereby causing a reduction of the work efficiency.

In addition, JP-A No. 2009-185677 has a structure in which an inlet member of a cap shape which serves as a gripping part after a long oil dip stick is fixed thereto is inserted into the spout of the external guide pipe to seal this part with a seal part made of rubber-like material. Therefore, the fixing of the inlet member to the external guide pipe may be insufficient, and reliability of the sealing may be degraded. In such a case, another structure in which the inlet member is fixed to the external guide pipe with a screw etc. may also be proposed. However, when the inlet member is screwed into the external guide pipe, the seal part made of rubber-like material is rotated while slidingly contacting an inner circumferential surface (sealing surface) of the external guide pipe. Therefore, durability of the seal part is degraded, leading to a reduction of reliability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is desirable to provide an oil filling device of engine oil, which can ease an oil-filling work to improve convenience, and can secure reliability of sealing.

An aspect of the present disclosure provides an engine oil filling device including an oil filling pipe attached at a lower end side thereof to an oil supply port that communicates with an oil pan, and provided at an upper end side thereof with an oil receiving part that opens upwardly; a cap provided with a cylinder part that protrudes inside the cap, an oil level gauge that is attached to the cylinder part and inserted from the oil filling pipe into the oil pan via the oil supply port, the cap covering the oil receiving part of the oil filling pipe and being fixed to the oil filling pipe by being rotated; and a sealing member that is provided inside the cap so as to be rotatable about the axis of the oil level gauge, and seals between an inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part and an outer circumferential surface of the cylinder part of the cap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals indicate like elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an oil filling pipe and a cap which are attached to an oil supply port of an engine; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an external structure of the oil filling pipe and the cap.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Hereinafter, one implementation of the present disclosure is described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In FIGS. 1 and 2, numeral “1” indicates a cylinder block of a multipurpose engine, and an oil supply port 2 which communicates with an oil pan or oil sump (not illustrated) is provided in a lower part of the cylinder block 1.

An oil filling pipe 3 of a predetermined length is attached to the oil supply port 2, and a cap 4 is attached to a spout side of the oil filling pipe 3 located at an upper end. An oil level gauge 5 for checking an oil level is integrally attached to the cap 4, and the oil level gauge 5 is inserted from the oil filling pipe 3 into the oil pan via the oil supply port 2.

The oil filling pipe 3 attached to the oil supply port 2 extends the oil supply port 2 to form an oil filling port of engine oil, and also serves as a plug-in port of the oil level gauge 5. In this implementation, the oil supply port 2 is formed into a cylindrical opening hole. A lower end part of the oil filling pipe 3 is inserted into the cylindrical opening hole, and a seal ring 6 attached to the lower end part of the oil filling pipe 3 secures a fluid tightness between an inner wall surface of the oil supply port 2 and an outer wall surface of the lower end of the oil filling pipe 3.

Moreover, an oil receiving part 3 a, which opens in the shape of a sticking-out gutter by partially cutting the cylinder, is formed in the spout side of the oil filling pipe 3 at the upper end, in order to allow an easy pouring of the engine oil. Further, a supporting part 3 b of a substantially triangular shape protrudes from near an upper end of an outer circumferential part of the oil filling pipe 3. The supporting part 3 b is fastened at a predetermined part of the cylinder block 1 with a bolt directly or via a stay etc., in order to fix the oil receiving part 3 a of the gutter shape with the opening side of the oil receiving part 3 a facing upwardly.

Note that if a female threaded part is formed inside the opening hole of the oil supply port 2, the lower end part of the oil filling pipe 3 may be inserted into a cylindrical adapter etc. having a male threaded part which is threadedly engaged with the female threaded part.

The cap 4 attached to the spout side of the oil filling pipe 3 at the upper end is formed in a substantially cylindrical bag shape which covers the oil receiving part 3 a, and an outer circumferential part thereof is used as a gripping part 4 a. A cylinder part 4 b having a small diameter projects substantially from the center of a ceiling part which is located inside the gripping part 4 a, in order to hold the oil level gauge 5. The oil level gauge 5 is comprised of a gauge rod 5 a fixed to the cylinder part 4 b located inside the cap 4, and a gauge part 5 b which is coupled to a tip end of the gauge rod 5 a. The gauge part 5 b has indexes which are embossed to indicate oil levels (e.g., add, normal range and overfill, etc.).

Moreover, a packing 7 is attached to an inside of the cap 4. The packing 7 is made of a natural or synthetic rubber material etc., as a sealing member which seals fluid-tightly between the oil filling pipe 3 and the cap 4. The packing 7 is formed in a stepped shape which has a larger diameter part 7 a of a substantially cylindrical shape and a smaller diameter part 7 b having a smaller diameter than the larger diameter part 7 a. The packing 7 is attached rotatable in a state where the gauge rod 5 a of the oil level gauge 5 is inserted therein while the smaller diameter part 7 b is located above inside the cap 4. A fall-off stopping member 8 is fixed to a part of the gauge rod 5 a below the larger diameter part 7 a, in order to prohibit a downward movement of the packing 7.

When the cap 4 is screwed into the oil filling pipe 3 up to a predetermined seal position, the packing 7 seals an inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3 by an outer circumferential part of the larger diameter part 7 a, and seals an outer circumferential surface at the tip end of the cylinder part 4 b of the cap 4 by an inner circumferential part of the smaller diameter part 7 b. Specifically, a plurality of circumferential grooves is formed in the outer circumference of the larger diameter part 7 a, and protrusions of the concavo-convex shape formed by the plurality of circumferential grooves closely contact the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3 to seal therebetween. Further, a recess is formed on a tip-end side of the smaller diameter part 7 b of the packing 7. The tip-end part of the cylinder part 4 b of the cap 4 is fitted into the recess so that an inner circumferential surface of the recess closely contacts the outer circumferential surface at the tip end of the cylinder part 4 b to seal therebetween.

The cap 4 is fixed to the oil filling pipe 3 by rotating the cap 4. As illustrated in FIG. 2, protruded portions 3 c which radially protrude by a predetermined length are formed at two 180° opposite locations on the outer circumference of the oil filling pipe 3 below the oil receiving part 3 a. The protruded portions 3 c can be completely entered inside the cap 4 from notches formed at a lower end surface of the gripping part 4 a of the cap 4, and when the cap 4 is rotated, the protruded portions 3 c are engaged with circumferential slots 4 c formed at a lower end side of the outer circumference of the gripping part 4 a. For example, each slot 4 c has a cam surface which inclines in an axial direction. Thus, when the cap 4 is rotated, the protruded portions 3 c of the oil filling pipe 3 ride on the corresponding cam surfaces to relatively move the cap 4 in the axial direction with respect to the oil filling pipe 3, and the cap 4 is then fixed to the oil filling pipe 3 when the cap 4 is rotated to a predetermined angle (e.g., 90°).

As described above, the oil filling device of engine oil is comprised of the oil filling pipe 3 and the cap 4. When checking a quantity of remaining oil in the oil pan, the cap 4 is grasped by a hand, and the oil level gauge 5 together with the cap 4 is pulled out from the oil filling pipe 3. If an oil film adhering to the gauge part 5 b of the oil level gauge 5 reaches a position between a carved mark indicative of a MAX position of the oil surface and a carved mark indicative of a MIN position, the quantity of engine oil is appropriate and, thus, the oil level gauge 5 is inserted back into the oil filling pipe 3 and the cap 4 is then attached.

On the other hand, if the oil film adhering to the gauge part 5 b is located close to or lower than the carved mark indicative of the MIN position, oil should be added. Therefore, the engine oil is filled from the upwardly-open-gutter-shaped oil receiving part 3 a at the upper part of the oil filling pipe 3. Here, a person can perform the oil filling work from above while taking an easy posture with less obstructions therearound. In addition, since the oil is filled from the upwardly-open-gutter-shaped oil receiving part 3 a, the oil can easily be filled into the oil filling pipe 3 without spilling the oil.

After the check of the engine oil (or after the oil is filled), the oil level gauge 5 is inserted back into the oil filling pipe 3, and the cap 4 is pushed to the seal position after the cap 4 is rotated at the position where the protruded portions 3 c of the oil filling pipe 3 can be entered into the cap 4. Therefore, the larger diameter part 7 a of the packing 7 closely contacts the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3, and the inner circumferential surface of the recess at the tip end of the smaller diameter part 7 b closely contacts the outer circumferential surface at the tip end of the cylinder part 4 b inside the cap 4. Then, after the packing 7 reaches the seal position, the cap 4 is rotated by the predetermined angle (e.g., 90°) to fix the cap 4 to the oil filling pipe 3.

Here, the packing 7 inside the cap 4 is separately provided from the cap 4. Therefore, the packing 7 does not follow the rotation of the cap 4 and, thus, the seal part between the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3 and the larger diameter part 7 a of the packing 7 will not suffer friction according to a rotation. For example, if the packing 7 is integrally formed with the cap 4, the cap 4 must be rotated with friction by a comparatively large torque while closely contacting the larger diameter part 7 a of the packing 7 with the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3. Therefore, the sealing may be degraded. On the other hand, in this implementation, since the larger diameter part 7 a of the packing 7 and the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe 3 do not rotate with respect to each other, the cap 4 can be rotated with less friction by a smaller torque while contacting the cylinder part 4 b of the cap 4 with the smaller diameter part 7 b of the packing 7. Therefore, the sealing will not be degraded.

As described above, in this implementation, the oil supply port 2 which is disposed comparatively near the oil surface is extended by the oil filling pipe 3 so that the oil filling port is disposed at the position where the oil can easily be filled. Therefore, the oil filling work can be improved, without requiring a complicated structure to reach the oil level gauge to the oil surface. In addition, the oil filling pipe 3 which extends the oil supply port 2 can be formed as a single resin-molded component, and the shape of the oil-filling spout can be formed with a high degree of freedom. Therefore, a simple upwardly-open gutter shape can easily be achieved, and the oil filling work can be improved.

In addition, the cap 4 which is attached to the oil filling pipe 3 has the packing 7 therein, and the packing 7 is rotatable with respect to the cap 4. Therefore, the sealing between the oil filling pipe 3 and the cap 4 can be achieved with the packing 7 by pushing the cap 4 into the inserting direction of the gauge. Further, the cap 4 is configured not to rotate the larger diameter part 7 a of the packing 7 with friction and rotate the smaller diameter part 7 b with friction instead when the cap 4 is rotated to be fixed to the oil filling pipe 3. Therefore, operability can be improved while securing the reliability and durability of the sealing. 

1. An engine oil filling device, comprising: an oil filling pipe attached at a lower end side thereof to an oil supply port that communicates with an oil pan, and provided at an upper end side thereof with an oil receiving part that opens upwardly; a cap provided with a cylinder part that protrudes inside the cap, an oil level gauge that is attached to the cylinder part and inserted from the oil filling pipe into the oil pan via the oil supply port, and the cap covering the oil receiving part of the oil filling pipe and being fixed to the oil filling pipe by being rotated; and a sealing member that is provided inside the cap so as to be rotatable about an axis of the oil level gauge, and seals between an inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part and an outer circumferential surface of the cylinder part of the cap.
 2. The engine oil filling device of engine oil of claim 1, wherein the oil receiving part is formed in a gutter shape that opens upwardly.
 3. The engine oil filling device of claim 1, wherein the sealing member has a larger diameter part that seals the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part, and a smaller diameter part that seals the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder part of the cap, and wherein, when the cap is rotated, the cylinder part is slidingly rotated while contacting the smaller diameter part, without the larger diameter part rotating with respect to the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part.
 4. The engine oil filling device of claim 2, wherein the sealing member has a larger diameter part that seals the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part, and a smaller diameter part that seals the outer circumferential surface of the cylinder part of the cap, and wherein, when the cap is rotated, the cylinder part is slidingly rotated while contacting the smaller diameter part, without the larger diameter part rotating with respect to the inner circumferential surface of the oil filling pipe below the oil receiving part.
 5. The engine oil filling device of claim 1, wherein at least one protruded portion is provided on an outer circumferential part of the oil filling pipe, the protruded portions protruding radially and being storable inside the cap, and wherein at least one slot is formed in the cap to engage with the at least one protruded portion by rotation of the cap.
 6. The engine oil filling device of claim 2, wherein at least one protruded portion is provided on an outer circumferential part of the oil filling pipe, the protruded portions protruding radially and being storable inside the cap, and wherein at least one slot is formed in the cap to engage with the at least one protruded portion by rotation of the cap.
 7. The engine oil filling device of claim 3, wherein at least one protruded portion is provided on an outer circumferential part of the oil filling pipe, the protruded portions protruding radially and being storable inside the cap, and wherein at least one slot is formed in the cap to engage with the at least one protruded portion by rotation of the cap.
 8. The engine oil filling device of claim 4, wherein at least one protruded portion is provided on an outer circumferential part of the oil filling pipe, the protruded portions protruding radially and being storable inside the cap, and wherein at least one slot is formed in the cap to engage with the at least one protruded portion by rotation of the cap. 